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@solitary.lychee
0 answers, 2 votes
 • 2 years ago •
Harvard prospective students
[edited]

What can I add to my application?
Answered

Hi! Rising junior here. Mainly I just want to know what I can do to make my application stand out in the next year or so.

Academics:

- 3.8 unweighted GPA at one of the top 20 best private schools in the US; also, my school does not give A+'s, so my transcript was half A's and half A-'s

- My school offers no AP/honors classes, but I am in the most advanced math class

- Will take around 5 APs next year

- I haven't taken the SAT yet, but I am aiming for a 1550+

ECs:

- Varsity sports team captain (11th and 12th)

- Student government rep (it's an elected position, so 10th, 11th, and 12th if I get it)

- Head of a club (11th and 12th)

- Semifinalist (top 500) of a national science olympiad (10th and probably 11th)

- Gold medalist (top 7) of a national science competition (10th)

- Published research with a research team using machine learning (10th summer)

- Hopefully a research internship during the upcoming school year (11th)

I'm aiming for Ivies and Stanford, so I'm worried that this won't be enough. Any advice?

11th-grade
extracurricularadvice
stem
science
extracurriculars
2
2
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Accepted Answer
@EliasMiller
expert
144 answers, 158 votes
 • 2 years ago[edited]

I think the best things you can do are to try to bump up your GPA (shooting for all As, although I know this will be challenging at any extremely competitive high school!) and to focus in on the extracurriculars related to your spike. It seems to me that your spike lies somewhere in the sciences, although I don't know the specifics. I'd aim to try to get your name on a published paper in this field and/or find a related, paid or stipended research assistantship or other similar opportunity. Continuing to participate in and win competitions in this area (IE. Science Olympiad) is excellent as well. It's great that you already have demonstrated leadership in your ECs and that you already have impressive accomplishments! Keep up the good work, shoot for that high SAT score, and go for those As. Good luck!

4
[🎤 AUTHOR]@solitary.lychee2 years ago

Hi, thank you so much for your thoughtful response! I'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind.

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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
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800

Extracurriculars

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